


Destiny Foreordained

by AlseGold



Category: Tokyo Babylon, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 04:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2942924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlseGold/pseuds/AlseGold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was written back in 2002. The Sakura Tree explains the truth behind the legend of its existence, its actual status vis-a-vis the universe, the Seishirou/Subaru relationship, and the End of The World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have previously lost my own fanworks when sites closed down. This fanfiction was written many, many years ago, but it is still something that I personally want to preserve in case I ever lose my own record of it. A reader did a beautiful Chinese translation of it; I have kept it, fortunately, for it is no longer available on the Internet since the site vanished.

© Copyright 2002 Gold.

 **Title:** Destiny Foreordained

 **Summary:** The Tree explains the truth behind the real legend, its status, the SeishirouSubaru relationship, and the End of The World.

**Disclaimer:**

1\. X/1999 and Tokyo Babylon are the creations of CLAMP. This was written purely out of fanservice and is not to be used for any profit nor for false association with CLAMP, X/1999, Tokyo Babylon or any entity holding any legal right arising out of and associated with CLAMP, Tokyo Babylon and X/1999.

2\. The song in this fanfiction is " _Meet Me Halfway_ " by Kenny Loggins, which rang through my head as I wrote this.

3\. In this fanfiction, there is a reference to two star-crossed lovers, Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai. They are the names of the Butterfly Lovers, two star-crossed lovers who are the Chinese equivalents of Romeo and Juliet. I felt that it being Japanese culture, it would be more fitting to use these two rather than Romeo and Juliet.

* * *

 

** Title: Destiny Foreordained **

**_In a lifetime_ **

**_Made of memories_ **

Centuries I have lived here, in this spot. Long enough for my story to fade into legend, and then to be forgotten by mankind, except those who must remember. Even then, they remember the legend, not the real story. The Sumeragi are brought up to believe that I am part of the Shadow, the Darkness, the evil they spend their lives guarding this region from. Only the Sakurazukamori remember the truth, because they must, and because they are the Sakurazukamori. Even so, they remember only part of the truth, and they know only part of the truth.

I am the Tree. Contrary to popular belief, I do not make use of black magic. I am a centre of Dark magic in this part of the world, yes; but not of black sorcery. Light and dark are but two sides of the same coin; white and black are opposing forces. To put it more precisely, dark and light are white, and black is black. I have been here since creation itself, one of the many Powers that help keep the balance between the light and the dark, and hold the black Powers at bay. Rather like those Dragons. So as the Seals protect the world by protecting mankind, the Angels protect the world by warning mankind. Two sides of the same coin, two faces, one purpose. There's actually a little more to that, but I'm not going to give it away just yet.

Sometimes I blame the Sakurazuka clan for perpetuating the myth. They like to think it makes things easier—those who practise black magic practically flee at the mention of the Sakurazukamori and are usually smart enough to stop practising the black arts. Nobody likes having their souls fed to a Tree and a supposedly evil one at that. Sometimes it makes me want to laugh. I don't laugh; I am the Tree. But it amuses me anyway. Think about it. Evil magic-doers fleeing from evil? You'd think they would have joined forces with the Sakurazukamori by now and formed some kind of gigantic evil association to take down the Sumeragi and their allies, if everything that was said was true. Oh, the numbers of ridiculous black arts practitioners who have come to talk to me and tell me they want to join forces with me. The Sakurazukamori deal very quickly with them. Sometimes I wonder why the Sumeragi clan does not see that. It seems to me that their legendary intelligence is highly suspect in that area. Then again, the Sakurazukamori are also extremely trying, believe me. Sometimes I do not understand humans at all.

I cannot help being old and apparently cruel. I have stood here for centuries and braved everything you can imagine, for the sake of this planet. In that time, I have learned patience, and to be patient and wait is to be cruel to those who see time in seconds, minutes, hours and days. I am a part of Destiny, and ruled by destiny, like all magical beings. From time to time, a Test awaits mankind, as light and dark battle it out. Sometimes it is good and evil—quite different, you understand, from light and dark. When it is good versus evil, the Sakurazukamori quietly aids the Sumeragi clan. The Sumeragi clan represent the visible threat; the Sakurazukamori, as is fitting, are the hidden weapons.

Lady Sumeragi, 11th head of the clan, knows this—and has chosen to forget it, believing that Setsuka murdered her son, just as the first Sakurazukamori, in a fit of madness, killed his third cousin (incidentally his best friend), the Sumeragi head. The old woman was wrong. The Sakurazukamori do not murder, not after the first Guardian. They kill—and only when needed. The story is a little complicated to tell, but the 12th head was caught in certain circumstances that he could not escape. He could not be allowed to live under the circumstances…if you could call that life…and so Setsuka took his life, before it was too late. Naturally the blood feud between the two families deepened.

**_I believe in destiny_ **

When Sakurazuka Seishirou first met the thirteenth clan head, the little boy Sumeragi Subaru, it was under my branches, and I knew what I saw. I knew who the little boy was, I knew who he would become, and I knew that my present Guardian thought he was special. And I saw more—I saw the silver strands of fate that connected the two, heart to heart, humming between them, and for all their power, neither could see or feel it. And I admit that I wanted the Sumeragi dead. For purely selfish reasons, you see, because I knew what destiny had laid out for them—and what it meant for me.

Star-crossed lovers they would be, one of many, many pairs in the years to come, and they weren't the Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai* type. Those were ordinary star-crossed lovers. These two were special and not because they were Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori. For one thing, they would fight on opposite sides at the next and Final Test. Sakurazukamori and the one who would be the last Sakurazukamori had met—were fated to meet—and I knew what would happen to me. As for what might happen to them, I did not know. I did not much care—not when I realised suddenly that I had only a few years to live, mere seconds of time compared to my entire lifespan. My whole world, as I knew it, unravelled that day.

The same person cannot be both Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori. Light and dark cannot co-exist for long within the same body. It was my destiny—it was always my destiny—that should that ever happen, it meant that the time of my death was at hand. And the entire Sumeragi clan would be deprived of their powers for eternity at the moment of my death. That would effectively send out ripple effects like aftershocks of an earthquake, and it would be powerful enough to remove _all_ magic in these lands. And now I had seen that the prophecy would be fulfilled in that little boy.

I radiated all the upset and angry and threatening feelings I had to Seishirou, but he pushed them aside and told me mentally, and gently, that he had a better idea. And when he said that, I knew what it meant to feel old—and I knew that there was nothing I could do about it. So I watched as he fed the boy some of the most annoying lies the Sakurazukamori have ever invented to make life less murdering for them. He said that my petals were pink from the souls I FED ON.

It made me extremely irritated. I do NOT feed on souls. Black sorcery does that. Do you know how many souls it takes to keep black magic going? I strip the souls tormented by the black arts practitioners and free them. They scream because that hurts them—the bonds are tightly fastened, you understand. I do absorb the power from all the souls as a whole, though power is not quite the word I would use to describe it. Energy? No, not quite. But souls can do quite well without it. They have to cast it off, anyway, before they enter the afterlife. That's because different souls have different levels of it, which they attain in life, and before they go into the afterlife, they must all be of equal status. That's the meaning behind the adage "Death is the great leveller". Every soul starts off on equal basis. So I absorb the power/energy and send them off. I have to, because I am not allowed to keep them. And in any case, it's not like I am a haven for souls or something.

And yes, my petals are pink, but that's because of the blood and that I can't help. The Sakurazukamori cannot keep burying people in makeshift graveyards, or else police would have too many unsolved serial murder cases popping up when some overzealous construction firm decides it wants to dig up some soil in some obscure piece of farmland to build a shopping complex. In any case, corpses end up being fertiliser in the round of things, and I am not human, so I don't care if dead humans are buried at my roots. Graveyards have lots of trees anyway, and you don't hear people complaining about them.

But I could not tell Seishirou about his destiny. It's a bit difficult to explain, but the long and short of it is that as I am one of the Powers, it is forbidden to me to openly reveal or do anything. I am bound to do nothing explicit that could disrupt the course of events. All I could do was to tell him that I didn't like what he was doing with the boy. I didn't tell him the boy's name and he didn't know. All he knew was that the boy had power and was intriguingly pure and sweet for someone with such power. All I wanted was for them to stay far, far apart from each other. I was trying to thwart destiny—and my egoistic guardian just smiled and told me not to be jealous. Ha ha. I am the Tree, for _Kami_ - _sama_ 's sake. Since when am I capable of being jealous?

So in retaliation, I sent a breeze that blew my guardian's words away. The little boy would not hear them. I should have known better—destiny is destiny. Their destiny was foreordained from the moment they met.

**_Every moment returns again in time_ **

I have watched Seishirou grow up, removed from his emotions. All the Sakurazukamori must try to be, or madness would overtake them before it was time to pass on the job. No human can kill and enjoy killing, really, if they are good people. I don't mean those sadistic twits who mutilate and torture and all that—I must say the Dark Kamui comes very close and I've wondered what kind of games destiny is playing to make him like that. But he is more than the Dark Kamui…but I digress. The Sumeragi and the Sakurazukamori are trained to put duty before everything else, but they are trained in different ways, because they have different types of duties. The Sumeragi put people before everything, because people are their duty. Compassion, wisdom and strength have always been the trademarks of the clan heads. The Sakurazukamori work differently. They are the killers, so they must lock away all emotions. They learn that none of their actions are to be dictated by the heart. Everything must be worked with the head, which must rule. The Sakurazukamori are seen as murderers, but that is wrong. They do not murder. They kill to protect and to keep the balance. This is their duty and they sacrifice everything, including their hearts.

And no, I do not hold the Sakurazukamori's heart. Imagine a human in love with a tree. That would be the rather horrific result, aside from the fact that it would leave the Sakurazukamori as little more than a deadly killing mercenary. Which they are not. In any case, I am not that fond of humans as to want one in love with me. Neither do I want to keep watch over their hearts. I have plenty of work to do, keeping track of everything that happens, without adding a few human hearts into the bargain.

The Sakurazukamori are conditioned and it is drilled into them: duty before all else and no emotions involved. They kill when necessary, for justice if you like. That little girl Seishirou killed the day he met the Sumeragi—she too was a threat. They come in all ages, you know. This little girl had murdered, in succession, three people—her nursemaid, her brother and her father's mistress. She was very clever—used a combination of toy cups, real tea, sugar and poison. No remorse there and she was going to kill her neighbour, another clever little girl who had guessed the truth. You don't have to practise the black arts to be black in your soul. That's why the Sakurazukamori does not listen to his or her heart. The little girl would have lived and murdered more innocents if Seishirou had listened to his heart and pitied her. Justice, you note, is blind.

**_When I've got my future on my mind_ **

**_Know that you'll be the only one_ **

He does take it to extremes, though. He had to develop a sort of defence mechanism against his own emotions. You can lock away emotions, but they keep fighting back. As it was when he met the Sumeragi, who unlocked the door. Plus my Guardian had made that incredibly _stupid_ bet. He liked the boy, although he was still emotionally quite removed then. But destiny had marked them both for each other, against each other, never _with_ each other, and Seishirou knew the boy was special. And he wanted to meet him again, so he marked him. He could have left it at that, but no, he told some dumb story about wanting to make a bet. "I'll let you go" indeed. He needn't have made such a song and dance out of it, and nonsense about the Sakurazukamori having to kill anyone who discovered his secret. Puh-lease. All he needed was to seal away that memory. That kind of magic is peanuts to someone of his calibre. It was the first time Seishirou had listened to his heart and it would not be the last. So he marked the Sumeragi—and I alone saw how the shimmering pale pink strands of their bonds wound around the silver strands of fate, and reinforced them tenfold. Their love and their fate were forever bound.

I hinted that the boy would be in his future and he would be dangerous. Also that it would be dangerous to get to know that boy as in the bet and would he please stay away. Seishirou is stubborn like all the Sakurazukamoris. It is a chronic condition of all humans, I have observed. So of course he didn't listen. He deluded himself into thinking he was playing a game and putting on a façade. It wasn't a façade, of course. It never was.

**_Meet me halfway_ **

**_Across the sky_ **

**_Out where the world belongs to only you and I_ **

**_Meet me halfway_ **

**_Across the sky_ **

**_Make this a new beginning of another life_ **

It is the price paid by the Sakurazukamoris. They go mad eventually. You do not keep on taking away lives like some executioner without either believing eventually that you control humans, at which you become a monster, or you go mad with the guilt and pain. It builds up over time. So the first Sakurazukamori went mad and his successor killed him before becoming the Sakurazukamori. Since then it has been passed down, through the strongest bonds that can be formed—those of death and love—but not through blood. Whether you are a child of the Sakurazukamori or not matters little. But though they deny everything that can be considered the deepest, truest joys and sorrows that humanity can bring, the Sakurazukamori are allowed one thing no other human is—they choose their deaths. They all do, because they must die before the madness hits them. After the disaster caused by the first Sakurazukamori, who single-handedly murdered half the Sumeragi clan and began the ancient feud, it became the rule. History has dictated that preceding Sakurazukamoris are killed by the ones _they_ love best. Not by the ones who love them best.

The year that Seishirou spent with the Sumeragi twins was really the most tiresome year and yet the best too. For me, I mean. It was tiresome because my Guardian kept telling himself his niceness was just a cover-up, and it was all a bet and he was the emotionless, untouchable, aloof, remote Sakurazukamori, and so on and so forth. He was even colder in the night time, when he wasn't being a nice veterinarian, to make up for the freedom he gave his emotions in the day. I was afraid he might go mad and I told him he had to leave at once. He did actually consider it and he agreed to, several times. But he was always back at the veterinarian's office the next day; he couldn't keep away from the Sumeragi. He'd say it was because the game was too much fun. Well, duh. He got a chance to be who he might have been if he hadn't been the Sakurazukamori. And he was getting a kick out of play-acting being normal. He was the first Sakurazukamori to have a taste of that life—and he would probably be the last. But it was always so much more than that.

Since he was enjoying himself, I was pleased too. For the first time in donkey centuries, I had a Guardian who exhibited something quite close to being happy, a normal kind of contentment that wasn't related to the idea of a job well done. There was this peace inside him, something that let him relax. He didn't have to think all the time about his job as a killer. It interested me as well, being quite different from the usual sort of matter. I saw a Guardian who had shed his cold exterior without knowing it. That made him a very, very interesting study. Besides, the Sumeragi twins were absolutely hilarious, bringing a kind of warmth and love into his life, which he had never encountered. Setsuka was too serious. She taught her son many things but never the secret of laughter. I do not laugh; I am the Tree. But that Hokuto girl was difficult not to laugh at. Very difficult. Plus she was always making fun of her brother and I enjoyed that. The Sumeragi was too easy to tease.

So for a year, Seishirou was happy. He was becoming alarmed at this, though, and was trying to reason his way out of it. Head, and not heart, was supposed to rule the actions of a Sakurazukamori. Happiness of the mortal sort, you understand, was never meant to be the lot of the Sakurazukamori. He came very, very close to seducing the Sumeragi boy, but walked away at the last minute, over and over again, when his head reminded him that his heart could not rule. At least he knew that he could not have taken that step without letting his heart (and body) rule over his head—which was not allowed for a Sakurazukamori. I decided not to tell him that he was falling in love with the Sumeragi boy. I was unhappy about it, because it meant my death, and because I knew that the two of them were never to be. But what could I do? The future was never mine to reveal. This year of contentment would be paid for in the time to come.

He figured it out for himself when the mad woman tried to stab his Subaru- _kun_.

The Sakurazukamori use magic. But it was instinct that my Guardian used when he shielded Sumeragi Subaru—instinct without magic. He used his own body to shield the boy. The emotionless Sakurazukamori does not do that.

So the defence mechanism cropped up again. It would not do for him to let the heart take over. The faster it did, the swifter the path to madness. And it was not yet time, so I was silent and let him find his way. He wanted to drive the Sumeragi away from him as far as possible and he decided to be as cold and cruel as he knew how to. Inside him, he needed to be like that, to remind himself that he could still lock away emotions. He didn't know, of course, that the crack was already there and it would be too late. And still he believed he did not love the boy. Technically that was true. He did not love him…not in the way the Sumeragi loved him, encompassing, yielding, completely, as a true lover does.

A Sakurazukamori can never love that way, for the road to love is the road to death.

So he used me for the dramatic effect. You know, pink sakura petals and all that. Sit the boy under the same Tree and then reveal yourself in all your glory, blah blah.

Except that I interfered this time. I sent a telepathic message to the old woman, the previous Sumeragi clan head. It was too early for the two fools to be duelling and I didn't exactly want to die just yet. The old woman didn't want to listen, but she did come. She may have hated me, but she knew what I was. I am an ancient Power and I do not lie. But she was old and weak, and there wasn't very much she could do despite her formidable powers. And the idiot Sumeragi was just there, with tears running down his cheeks, heartbroken, et cetera, locked in apparent stasis. I fervently hoped he would not grow up like that or humanity's battle was already lost.

I watched carefully. If Seishirou really struck, I would step in a split second before and haul back all his power. I wasn't sure what would happen, but what the heck. Worse things would happen if he did kill the boy. I didn't know what would happen if he killed the boy and I didn't want to know. At least if the Sumeragi was alive I had roughly an idea of what might happen.

But he didn't strike.

I tell you, he didn't. The old woman was weak, never mind her impressive display, and the Sumeragi was just wilting there, waiting to die. Seishirou could have killed his Subaru-kun _and_ inflicted heavy damage on the old woman. But he didn't. He just stopped.

I think he must have known—must have understood then, exactly how much Sumeragi Subaru really meant to him. If the loss of his eye began his understanding, their moment under my branches completed it. But of course he had to maintain the Sakurazukamori myth, so he spouted some more trash that nearly killed the Sumeragi on the spot. I know why he did what he did, but I freely admit I did not understand completely. My Guardian was on the point of being hurt because he was hurting his darling, but he successfully blanketed the feeling before it was more than a mere twinge. And busily told himself that his Subaru-kun was nothing to him, blah blah blah. _His_ Subaru-kun. I did not believe for a moment that he would truly hurt the boy.

So when he killed the boy's twin sister, I—even I—was surprised.

**_In a lifetime_ **

**_There is only love_ **

**_Reaching for the lonely one_ **

**_We are stronger when we are given love_ **

The Sakurazukamori have always been highly intelligent. Seishirou, though, was the most intelligent of them all. A cold, brilliant thinker and strategist, he had the gift and curse of anticipating possibilities and accurately latching on the right outcomes. He also had the ability to grasp opportunities far more quickly than the average Sakurazukamori. At twenty-five, he was the most powerful Sakurazukamori ever—which made me even more certain that it was in this generation that I would meet my doom—and his powers were yet to peak. His powers informed him that something hovered in the future and he confronted me about it directly after he had revealed his secret to the Sumeragi and the boy had fallen into—well, a coma, I suppose, is what best describes it.

_Tell me what you see, Sakura-sama. How bad is it?_

Note that he knew without my saying so, that the future was not a pretty one.

 _As bad as it can be_ , I had told him shortly.

 _So…it can never be…_ He did not say what he meant but I knew. He meant _We can never be_.

 _I see it_ , he said quietly. _I see it_. And he was silent, and I knew he could see it—a brief glimpse of the magnitude of what was supposed to come. Both Kamui were already born… _I suppose there is only one way. Going Within him…is too dangerous._

Too intimate, was what he meant. It could break open my Guardian's defences.

He fell silent, but inside him I could feel the walls go up, thicker and stronger than they had been for a year, and insurmountable. The Sumeragi would never be able to find his way inside again. True, there was a little place inside, but it was a very small place, and it had been stopped up with ice.

_When we put emotions on the line_

_Know that we are the timeless ones_

So when Hokuto came before him, he killed her. He didn't kill her for the wholly stupid reason she offered him—sacrifice indeed. No Sakurazukamori kills for sacrifice. It was never the purpose. But Seishirou did what he did for reasons I didn't altogether agree with. He did it to teach the Sumeragi a lesson the boy would never forget.

 _He will go insane_ , I warned my Guardian.

_If he does, I will bring him back. He has to learn if he is ever going to fight. He is too kind—and too foolish. The world is never black and white, and Subaru-kun sees only the white._

I thought I felt something deep inside my Guardian sigh, very softly. _Aren't you black enough for him already?_ I pointed out.

 _I don't like this_. I waited to see what he would say.

 _You don't have to_ , he told me. _Just send her off._

_Do you want me to tell her you're sorry?_

He was surprised. _I'm not sorry. This has to be done. I do what must be done and pay the price for it. If fate decides that others must also pay the price, I accept it. That is the way of the Sakurazukamori._

Hokuto did not understand. She came, not understanding, and died not understanding. As she cast her final spell and bound it with her death and her love, the same powers that are used in the bonds between myself and my Guardians, unknowingly, she reinforced the bonds connecting my Guardian and the Sumeragi. The strand of glowing red that formed her spell wrapped itself around the silver and pale pink bonds already connecting them heart to heart. By the time she realised what fate held in store for these two, it was already too late, and I had sent her soul on.

If Seishirou couldn't see it, I could, though, and it only served to tell me that their destiny... was foreordained.

**_Meet me halfway_ **

I remember the day, nine years later. Seishirou came to me and I could see that something was different. He leaned against my trunk and silently lit a cigarette. He said nothing, but I saw the bonds, silver, red and pale pink, glow in a way they had not done for nine years, and I felt a change in him. The Sumeragi had returned and it was beginning. They did not know it, but the tension was beginning—the Kamui had chosen, and his Twin Star had been doomed from the moment of his choosing.

I said nothing, but I knew what Seishirou was thinking. Nine years had passed and he had not forgotten the Sumeragi. That was what puzzled him. Inside him, the crack in his walls yielded a little more as I watched and stayed silent. In his eyes and in his mind ran memories of a boy and his twin sister, memories that struggled to be tinted with emotion, but which Seishirou blanketed with a practised hand, and skimmed through quickly, so that he remained detached to the images. He stood there the whole night, smoking cigarette after cigarette, until the dawn.

In the days that passed, I know that he tracked the Sumeragi every moment he could. I could sense them both. Seishirou was almost always more silent and colder than ever. He rested beneath my branches but rarely; he was pre-occupied with the Sumeragi. I understood that the Sumeragi now puzzled my Guardian. The boy had grown into a man, and a very handsome young man at that, if I read Seishirou's reaction correctly. But while my Sakurazukamori thought (rather sentimentally) that the boy he had known was underneath the hard yet brittle shell of the young man, I gathered that there were times when the Sumeragi's actions actually puzzled him. It galled Seishirou. The man would never admit it, but the Sumeragi fascinated him. He wanted to be the only one to truly understand the boy…partly because of intellectual curiosity and partly because…well, he cared something for the boy.

But new events were on the horizon.

Day after day, the tension in the air grew ever thicker and more evident as the Dragons of Earth made themselves known, and the Dragons of Heaven emerged. I knew who they were even before I saw them through my Guardian's eyes. As each Seal and Angel awoke, I felt the glowing and humming of the threads fate had spun out for them, linking them to one another in bonds that were unbreakable. Earth represented humanity's dark side, bearing the burdens of intellect, determination and ruthlessness. Heaven was humanity's light side, bearing the burdens of selfishness (certainly not selflessness), love and courage. Neither understood the other, or was meant to understand. Light and dark had travelled along their own paths through the years. It was time for them to confront each other in this, the Final Test, to determine whether humanity would remake itself and thus remake the world, or destroy itself to remake the world. This was the task of the two Kamuis, one representing the light of humanity, and the other, representing the darkness. More than anything, those two were humanity.

**_Across the sky_ **

That day, I felt my Guardian falter for the first time.

He leaned against my trunk, quietly, out of sight, and did not even bother to weave the usual illusion that hid him from view. He was very close to trembling with rage, one that burned white-hot, and his walls shook beneath the fire, directed at himself, at the Dark Kamui—and the Sumeragi. Evidently something had happened, involving the three of them, and it had infuriated my Guardian. Seishirou said nothing, but the image he projected told me why he was so upset. Bluntly stated, the Dark Kamui had apparently put out one of Subaru's eyes, and the Sumeragi was now lying in a hospital bed, swathed in bandages. Naturally, nobody could do anything to Sumeragi Subaru without the Sakurazukamori knowing about it. The root of my Guardian's fury had to do with that, and also something about the Sumeragi's Wish, which I gathered were the Dark Kamui's words.

I was a little annoyed. He had been thinking of the Sumeragi ever since the boy re-emerged, and I can tell you that when someone's thoughts are occupied with one topic, day in, day out, it can get exceedingly tiresome very quickly.

 _Why do you not visit your Sumeragi?_ I queried. Since he was fretting over it in this manner, he might as well visit the Sumeragi. It might calm him and put things in perspective. Always confront your fears, or else be slave to them forevermore. On the other hand, perhaps confronting _desires_ and _obsessions_ wasn't exactly the best way to go about things.

Seishirou lit a cigarette but he did not put it to his lips. Instead, he stared at it as the tiny flame flickered and glowed at the end of the long, elegant cylinder of paper. Then he abruptly dropped it to the ground and crushed it underneath his foot. He leant back on my trunk, speaking in careful, neutral tones.

"His Kamui will worry for him."

I sensed a fierce flare of something inside him, which he crushed as mercilessly as he did the cigarette—a flare of something that was hidden behind those vast, unbroken walls that protected his sanity.

"But I am the Sakurazukamori."

Seishirou slowly selected another cigarette from his case and lit it. This time, he slid it into his mouth and sucked in the smoke, then blew it out with slow deliberation.

"Until I die, he is mine."

He did not say it. Until he died, the Sumeragi could never be free. Until he died, he himself could never be free.

But I have known of some bonds that are beyond death.

**_Up where the world belongs to only you and I_ **

_Sakura-sama._

_Sakurazukamori_ , I responded seriously.

 _Thank you._ He briefly laid his cheek on my trunk and for a moment, I remembered the first time Setsuka had laid this child's cheek against my trunk so that I would recognise it.

 _You are going,_ I said.

 _I am going,_ he confirmed. _There is one who has to be killed. You will feed soon._

 _It is not what you are thanking me for,_ I remarked dryly.

 _No_ , he agreed, sounding amused. B _ut you already know why I am thanking you. My mother thanked you that morning, before I killed her. I am doing the same; thanking you for everything._

I nodded slowly to myself, carefully waving my branches so that a shower of my petals and leaves floated past him, as if on a breeze. _So, you know._

I could hear him clearly: _I know. Until I die, he is mine. But you already know, don't you?_

 _That even if you die, you belong to him?_ I replied. _The Final Test is coming up. Go to him, Sakurazukamori. One last time. You may yet alter your future._

He laughed patiently. _Sakura-sama. There is no future for me. I am the Sakurazukamori and an Angel, a Dragon of Earth. I do what I have to and pay the price for it._ He paused. _How sentimental…today, I think, I am to pay the price._

 _For nine years, you and the Sumeragi have paid the price for that one year you spent together,_ I told him. _Fate and not you, will decide when the price is fully paid._

 _Today, I pay my last price_ , he repeated quietly. _I pay it for taking away Sumeragi Hokuto's life. And in doing so, I fulfil my Subaru-kun's Wish—and give him his freedom—to be with his Kamui._

I sensed the hidden truth behind those words and spoke abruptly. _You love the Sumeragi boy, as much as it is possible for the Sakurazukamori to love anyone._

 _But that has never been enough_ , he answered quietly, and I felt the walls inside him shake. _Sakura-sama…once I thought it might have been, a long time ago, but then was then and this is now. Our destiny was foreordained._ He drew a long breath. _Will you be with me? I have no one else._

The Sakurazukamori have never lacked for courage.

 _I will,_ I assured him. _I will be there, every step of the way, whatever happens._ I knew better than to dissuade him. There was another reason why he was doing what he was doing…and I feared that it would break those walls, release his heart, and drive him insane.

_Thank you._

He straightened up, carefully brushing a petal from his suit, cool and debonair, with the magnetic charm and hint of strength both within and without, that made both men and women fall at his feet, and ensnared Sumeragi Subaru all those years ago. He did not know this, believing otherwise—but he was a loveable man. Sumeragi Hokuto had been right—my Guardian too had a chance to love—but she had not known that for a Sakurazukamori, love is the road to death.

I watched him as he walked away, and felt the planets and stars slowly move into position in the skies above. His destiny had been foreordained.

**_Meet me halfway_ **

It was the end when I saw the Sumeragi arrive, white trenchcoat flapping in the rising wind. The silver strands were humming so wildly that they stretched, taut, between the two men, and the pale pink and red glow mixed with the silver threads until they became one. It was time.

Out of the corner of my mind, I sensed a presence. _Kamui._

The boy who had been Monou Fuuma acknowledged me. _Ancient One._

I knew how to handle him. _Stay out of this,_ I warned him. _And keep that other Kamui out of this without hurting or maiming or killing him._ With the Dark Kamui, you have to spell things out very clearly. _If he interferes, they will all die and the world is forfeit. You won't get that Final Battle._

There was a pause. _So…the Seal still loves him._

 _We will see_ , I answered shortly. _For the Sakurazukamori has always been killed by the one he or she loves best; never killed by the one who loves them best._

And I watched silently as Seishirou, still smiling, clenched his fist and aimed for the Sumeragi's heart. And as that blow was aimed, I felt the walls around Seishirou's heart crack and slowly give way, and the emotions that had been bottled up since he was a little boy of nine swept ponderously through my Guardian, pain in its wake, and blended with the physical pain of the Sumeragi's hand in his heart.

…Seishirou…my Guardian, you served me well…you and I did our part…

I know my petals fall and scatter, but I do not care, for that brief moment. In this moment, I salute you, Sakurazukamori—Suzuki Seishirou, son of Suzuki Setsuka, a distant, forgotten cousin of the Sumeragi clan. Go, Seishirou. You have done your work well. Reclaim your true name.

I watch the Sumeragi's face crumple as he holds Seishirou's body tightly to him.

Weep, Sumeragi. You may cry now, because your heart is broken again just when you believe it has already been broken beyond repair. But the bonds that bind the two of you are threefold, and unbroken. Your love and his love have sealed those bonds and rendered them eternal. A rare love indeed—if only you would realise it, Sumeragi. It is possible to reject eternal love. In the end, you are the one he loved best. But is he the one you love best?

Seishirou refused to kill you, not because you are worthless to him, Sumeragi. You are worth too much to him. You alone he loved best, and you alone were forbidden to him by duty and destiny. His love would have embittered him and driven him insane. So he chose instead to seal his emotions away, and was unconsciously torn between keeping you away and drawing you close. Why else do you think he kept on sending you mixed signals that he himself was unable to stop? Ah, but you mistook him, because you did not understand him. You tried to understand how he was, and was blinded for your pains. Even so, you could not understand. Unless you are the Sakurazukamori, you will never understand.

He loved you in the only way he could—not the kind of lovey-dovey you expected, but he could never give more, because it was impossible. He loved you as best he could, enough to let you go when he could have killed you, and enough to let your grandmother go free, and enough to kill your sister and break you so that you came out of your self-imposed coma and learned that there was blackness in this world. It was something you needed to learn for your tasks ahead. He loved you enough to believe that it was he who was worthless in your eyes, and not the other way round. He could never have killed you and he could never hurt you. That he broke your heart all those years ago ensured your survival at least. He would have seen to that in any way.

He knowingly activated your sister's spell—not only for you, but also for himself. He wanted to set you free—and to let you avenge your sister—and to set himself free from you. Didn't realise that, did you? He had to set himself free from you. You, Sumeragi, were too caught up in yourself to see that. You made him the centre of your world once, but you could never understand that he had no world to begin with. Humans need companionship from other humans, and he was one of those doomed to loneliness. The companionship of a Tree is not much use to a human, never mind if the Tree is as wonderful and powerful as I am. He never had a choice; you did and you chose not to have the companionship of others.

Oh, and by the way—there was another reason he died, even though he did not consider it a primary motive for committing suicide. He believed that you were beginning to care for Kamui. That came very close to breaking him, do you know that? He would have been driven insane in the end. He never thought you would love him, because you did not show that you loved the Sakurazukamori. You loved only Sakurazuka Seishirou. And Seishirou was both. So for both selfish and noble purposes, he made quite the greatest sacrifice a lover can make. He gave you your freedom from him.

Treasure it, Sumeragi, while you can. The end draws near. You could never love this man more than he loved you, and Seishirou's sacrifice, such as it is, moves even an ancient, tough old tree like me.

**_Across the sky_ **

I was resting my old limbs when I felt something strange. It felt very much like Seishirou's bonds to me…but that could not be. I had sent his soul off already…but wait, there was something different about it…

I sensed a presence. _By all the names of the stars in the heavens, what the hell is going on?!_ Somehow, some way, the exasperating fool of a Sumeragi had managed to blend his bonds with Seishirou's Sakurazukamori bonds! Without my permission, the brat! And what was he doing, standing under my branches? He should be with his Kamui, or at least doing a fair bit of mourning for his Seishirou. But no, here he was…Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori blended into one.

I trembled. _Sumeragi Subaru, what do you think you are doing?_ I hissed.

His reply came back, faint and dull. _I suppose you are the Sakura._

I sensed something else. His eyes…wasn't he blinded in one eye…Kami-sama. He was wearing Seishirou's good eye. I felt a cold shiver as I realised what I had forgotten.

Technically, because Seishirou had killed himself, well, there could be no next Sakurazukamori. I had forgotten that I would die quite slowly as my magic ran out, without a Sakurazukamori. Except that because my Sakurazukamori had killed himself, and by the old rule, whoever kills the Sakurazukamori is the next Sakurazukamori…our bonds—the bonds between Seishirou and myself must still have held somehow. Weaker, perhaps, but still there, even though his soul had moved on. I had severed the bonds held to his soul. But his body had not moved on—

_Sumeragi. Do you know what you just did?_

_I am…Sakurazukamori…_

Fine, so I will not need to die slowly. But I will really, really have to refrain from murdering this tomfool. One question nags at me, though.

_Exactly where did you get Seishirou's eye?_

He sounded both unconcerned and dreary. _The Dark Kamui gave it to me. He said…if I took it…I would become the next Sakurazukamori…_

The interfering Dark Kamui. Very well. He thinks he is all powerful. Little does he know why he cannot kill Shirou Kamui, and little does he know exactly why the other Kamui will never be broken. Shirou Kamui still exists. Inside him is a little of the brash young boy with a spine. The Kamui we see today has no spine—or so many people think. Ha. One has to have a spine to stand up to the Dark Kamui. Shirou Kamui has one, certainly. The Dark Kamui doesn't know why he can't kill Kamui. Well, I could tell him. Inside him is Monou Fuuma, who loved Shirou Kamui very much, and still does. No matter what, the Dark Kamui can never kill the other Kamui.

But I digress.

I turned my attention to the Sumeragi. So you took the eye, just took it, I said acidly.

I now know exactly how destiny works. Through the hands of an idiot like Sumeragi Subaru. It pains me to observe how Seishirou wasted his life on games with this boy who has a brain the size of a pea.

 _I had to…_ he whispered.

I looked at the boy. Probably some silly misconception of his all arising from the love. Humans are all like that. I can see the silver threads of fate shine brightly; the pale pink and red threads have disappeared with Seishirou's death. The love is obvious; the silver strands of fate shine a soft gold.

I do not like to baby-sit.

And I sincerely hope the Kamui gives the Dark Kamui a jolly good thrashing on the Day of the Sacrifice.

**_Make this a new beginning of another life_ **

The Final Test has arrived. I can feel it.

The Day of the Final Sacrifice.

Did any of the Ten no Ryu and Chi no Ryu notice it, I wonder?

Each death, of Seal and Angel, was a sacrifice.

It will be very interesting.

They will all be there, all of them—dead or alive. They are the Ten no Ryu and the Chi no Ryu, after all, and come what may, they must all be here, on this final day.

Ah. They have arrived.

They stand, facing one another, opposite one another.

Ah. It has begun.

 


	2. Destiny Foreordained (Chinese translation)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chinese translation, done by a reader. Unfortunately I did not keep a record of the reader's name and I have changed my email, so I don't know how to contact the reader to ask for permission to put it up. If you are reading this and you are the translator, I hope you do not mind that I have put this up here. It is a beautiful translation that is almost the English equivalent when I read it. I think there are a few teeny lost in translation moments, less than a handful and unintended, I am certain. These, in my opinion, do not in any way lessen the overall quality of the translation.

Destiny Foreordained

 

_穷尽一生一世  
织就无限追忆_

 

在这个地方，我，已经生存了数千年。如此漫长的时光，足以将我的故事湮灭成一段传说，随即为世人遗忘，只有必须将其铭记于心的人才得以知晓。即便如此，他们所记忆的也只是那段传说，而非真实的往事。皇一门的族人自幼接受的训导，就是将我看作阴暗晦影的一部分，对他们而言，我即是黑暗，是务必要从他们毕生守护的这片土地上驱逐的邪恶。惟有每一代的樱冢护，才真正地了解过往的事实，他们必须将其牢记在心，因为他们是樱冢护。但就算是这样，他们所铭记的，所知晓的，也仅仅是片段的真相而已。

我即是那一棵树。与众人所认定的刚好相反，我并不使用邪术。的确，我是这个地方黑暗灵力的核心，但并非所谓的邪恶巫术。光与暗只不过是同一硬币的两面而已，黑与白也只是相对的两种势力。更确切地说，光与暗都是白，而黑才是黑。我诞生于开天辟地之始，作为维持光与暗之间的平衡，抵抗邪恶力量的数种力量之一而降世，与那些“龙”的存在非常相似。封印以保护人类的方式守护这个世界，而御使则已警诫人类的方式守护这个世界，恰如同一硬币的正与反，两种面貌，同一目的。虽然事实的确并不止如此，但那些东西我暂且还不想全部透露。

有时，我也会责怪樱冢护一族为什么要将那套无稽之谈无限地散布下去。他们大概都认为这样做可以让一切简单化——只要提到樱冢护，使用邪术的人几乎马上便全部逃之夭夭，并且，常常都比较明智地不再使用那些邪法，因为没有人乐意拿自己的灵魂去喂一棵树，而且还是一棵公认的很邪恶的树。有的时候这让我实在很想笑。当然了，我不笑，因为我是树。可是不管怎样这让我觉得很有意思，想想看，邪恶术者会被邪恶吓得逃之夭夭么？要是这些说法都是事实的话，你该觉得到现在为止他们早该和樱冢护联合起来，结成个巨型邪术集团什么的，一举把皇一门和他们的同盟者全部摆平才对吧。噢，找我来会谈，告诉我说想跟我联合的荒唐邪术师倒是有过不少，结果樱冢护十分干脆利落地把他们解决了。有些时候我真想不明白皇一门那些人怎么就看不到这些，要是这么看的话，我倒觉得传说中有关他们崇高智慧的真实性实在相当地可疑。不过话又说回来，樱冢护也一样让人头大，真的。有时候，人类真是让我一点也摸不着头脑。

随着时间的流逝，我越来越老，也很明显地，越来越残酷。这我也没有办法。我伫立在这里有几千年了，也为了这个地球勇敢地面对过你所有能想象到的东西。那时我学会了保持耐心，而保持耐心与静心等待对那些用秒，用分，用小时或是用天来衡量时间的人而言本身即是一种残酷。正如所有身具力量的生物一般，我是命运的一环，又被命运所掌控。有时候，光与暗的对决是人类所面临的历练，但有的时候却是正与邪的对战——你明白，与光与暗的对战完全不同。当对战的双方是正与邪之时，樱冢护便会悄然地成为皇一门的协助者。皇一门代表着可见的威胁，而樱冢护，正如同与其身份相称的一般，是隐藏的武器。

皇老夫人，皇家第十一代主人，了解这一点——不过却选择了将其遗忘，而相信谋杀她儿子的人是雪华，就像第一代樱冢护一般，在癫狂中杀死了自己的三代表亲（顺带一提，也是他的好朋友），皇一门的当主。但老人家错了，樱冢护自第一代以后就不再谋杀，他们杀人并非出于自己的预谋，而且只在必要的时候才杀人。真实的情况有点复杂，不大好讲，但皇家第十二代主人恰好身处特殊的情况之下，无法逃脱。他是不能被容许生存在那样境况中的……如果你将那种境况称之为生活也可以……于是，雪华在一切变得太迟以前夺去了他的性命。结果便自然而然地又将两家的族仇弄得更深了一层。

 

_我相信命运_

 

樱冢星史郎第一次与皇家第十三代主人，还是小男孩的皇昴流相遇的时候，是在我的枝下，而我知道我所看到的是什么。我知道那小男孩是谁，知道他将会变成什么样子，也知道我现任的守护者认定他是特别的人。除此以外，我还看到了更多的东西——我看到将那两个人的心联结在一起的那条银色的命运之线正在他们之间轻声吟唱，但无论拥有多少力量，他们自己也同样看不见它，感觉不到它。我承认，我想要皇家的那个孩子死，这是出于纯粹自私的原由，你知道，因为我明白命运为他们安排下的将会是什么——还有，那对我而言意味着什么。

他们，将是命中注定无法得到幸福的恋人，未来世界无数对这样的恋人中的一对，并且，他们不是梁山伯与祝英台的那种类型。那只是普通的悲恋而已，而这两个人却是特殊的，但并不因为他们是皇家的主人和樱冢护，只为在最后的决战中他们将成为敌对的双方。就这样，樱冢护与将成为最后一任樱冢护的人相遇了——命中注定的相遇——于是我知道了等待我的将会是什么。至于将有什么事情发生在他们身上，我不清楚，也不怎么太在乎——直到我突然意识到自己只剩下不多的几年可活，与我的有生之年相比仅算得上是几秒钟一般长的时间。如我所知，我的整个世界在那一天里分崩离析了。

皇家主人与樱冢护是无法由同一个人担当的，光与暗在同一个肉体中根本无法长久地并存下去。这就是我的命运——一直以来就是我的命运——注定了的结果，意味着我的死期将至，而在我死去的同时，皇一门整个家族也将永远失去他们的力量。由此还将产生强烈的波及力量，就仿佛是地震的余震一般，强烈到足以将这片土地上所有的灵力清扫一空。现在，我已然一清二楚，预言即将在那个孩子身上实现。

我将自己所有的烦闷、愤怒以及威吓的情绪全部传达给了星史郎，但他却将它们推到一旁置之不理，用精神力温和地告诉我说他有个更好的主意。他这么说的时候，我算是清楚了所谓的老弱无力感究竟是什么——也明白我自己对此根本无能为力。所以我就做了旁观者，看着他向那孩子灌输樱冢护们为了让生活少点麻烦而编造出来的最气人的谎言。他说我的花瓣之所以是粉红色是因为我吃掉的那些灵魂。

这简直把我气坏了。我才不是靠吃灵魂过活的，黑魔法才会这样呢。你知道运用黑魔法需要多少灵魂作代价吗？我所做的是将为那些邪术师所折磨的灵魂夺过来再将他们释放而已，他们尖叫是因为这样做会让他们感到疼痛——黑魔法的束缚是很牢固的，你知道。总的来说，我的确从所有的灵魂身上吸收了力量，虽然“力量”并不是我认为表达起来最为确切的词。精气？不，也不太好。总归没有那东西灵魂也照样好好的就是了，不管怎样，它们必须在进入来世以前将它丢弃。这是因为不同灵魂所拥有的那样东西的层次也不同，是他们活着的时候得到的，而走入来生之前，他们必须回到同一层面上来。这也就是“死神绝对一视同仁”这句格言的深层含义。每个灵魂的出发点都完全相同。所以，我吸收掉那些力量，或者说精气，然后把灵魂们放走。我必须这样做，因为滞留他们是不被允许的，而且再怎么说来，我都不是灵魂的庇护所之类的东西啊。

没错，我的花瓣是粉红色的，但这是因为那些血的缘故，我也没有办法。樱冢护不可能总是随便将就找个地方把人埋掉，否则哪天某家热情过度的建筑公司决定在某个偏远地带的田地里掘点土再盖个购物中心什么的时候，就该有一大堆悬而未破的连续谋杀案子捅到警察那里去了。无论如何，尸体最终都要归为肥料参与物质循环的，况且我又不是人类，所以我才不在乎根底下是不是埋了死人呢。墓场里还有那么多树呢，你也没听到有人抱怨不是吗。

可我不能告诉星史郎他的命运。解释起来有点困难，不过总的说来还是因为我是众多力量之一，公然泄露天机或是做些什么都是遭禁的。我是绝对不能直接干扰事态进程的，唯一能做的就是告诉他我不喜欢他现在对那孩子做的事。我没告诉他那孩子的名字，于是他不知道。他所知道的只有那孩子拥有灵力，且对于有着那样强大力量的人而言又是如此不可思议地纯洁可爱。而我想要的一切就只是让他们离对方远远地而已。我正试图与命运对抗——可我那个自私自利的守护者却只是笑笑，叫我别吃醋。哈哈，看在老天份上，我是树啊，什么时候我也能吃醋啦？

于是，怀着报复的心理，我掀起一阵风，吹走了我守护人的话，让小男孩没听见。不过我早该清楚的——命运就是命运，他们的命运从相遇的一刻起就已经注定了。

 

_每一瞬间都将适时地再现_

 

我看着星史郎一天天地成长，一天天地抛弃了感情。每一代樱冢护都必须尽力做到这一点，否则等不到将责任递交给下一任，自己就要疯了。说真的，人类是无法忍心杀死别人且将杀戮当作享受的，只要他们的本性还是良善的。我指的可不是那些成天四处毁啊烧啊搞迫害啊之类的那些患了虐待狂的白痴——必须声明一下，地龙的神威就相当接近这一类型，我真是弄不懂命运到底搞的这是什么名堂，居然把他弄成那样。不过，他的本质并不止是地龙的神威而已……但这些都是题外话了。言归正传，皇一门与樱冢护都被训练成为时刻将责任放在第一位的术者，但训练的方式完全不同，因为两家所担当的是不同类型的任务。皇一门将“人”放在首要地位，因为守护人类即是他们的责任。悲天悯人的胸怀，睿智，以及力量一向都是皇一门主人一职的标志。而樱冢护则不同，樱冢护是杀手，因此必须将一切个人的情感都封禁起来，学会永远都不用“心”来掌控自己的行为。一切都必须用理智解决，理智统领一切。樱冢护一向都被看作是谋杀者，但这种观念是错误的。樱冢护不会蓄意谋杀，杀人只是为了守护，为了维持平衡。这就是樱冢护的责任，为此他们牺牲了一切，包括自己的心。

那个，不，我并没有俘获樱冢护的心。想象一下一个人类爱上一棵树那会是什么样子啊，那样的话结果可就太恐怖了，还不用说樱冢护也要因此变得和一个纯粹的雇佣杀手没什么两样，事实上根本不是这样。不管怎样，我即不会因为喜欢人类而想要他们爱上我，也不想没完没了地监视他们的心。我有很多很多的事情要做，我密切地关注着一切事物的发展，但决不会将半点人类的感情因素扯进来。

樱冢护一贯如此，这都是经过严格训练的结果：责任高于一切，且永不涉及感情。他们在必要的时候杀人，为了正义而杀人，如果你喜欢这种说法的话。遇到皇家少主的那一天星史郎杀掉的那个女孩——她同样也是个威胁。具有危险性的人是不分年龄的，你知道，那个女孩连续谋害了三个人——她自己的保姆，哥哥，以及父亲的情人。她很聪明——利用玩具茶杯，真的茶，糖和毒药这一套东西达到了目的，且没有一丝悔意。她还计划着要去杀掉她的邻居，也是一个聪明的小姑娘，因为她猜到了事情的真相。拥有邪恶灵魂的人并不一定都使用黑魔法，这就是樱冢护不会动恻隐之心的缘由。若是星史郎听命于自己的心，对这女孩产生怜悯而放过她，那么她一定会谋害更多无辜的人。你知道，正义一向都是无情的。

 

_当命运呈现在我心底  
我知道，你就是唯一_

 

不过，他的确做得很极端。他不得不构建起一道防御壁垒来对抗自己的情感，因为你可以将情感封锁起来，但它们总会卷土重来，就像他遇到皇家少主的时候一样，那孩子开启了那扇门。另外，我的守护者还定了那个愚蠢得不可思议的赌约。他喜欢那孩子，虽然那时候他仍然基本上没有感情。但命运已经为他们两个同时打上了相互依存，相互对抗，且永远无法在一起的烙印。星史郎知道那孩子非同寻常，并且，他还想再见到他，于是在他身上留下了印记。本来到此为止就对了，可他没有，反而讲了一堆傻乎乎的话说想打个赌什么的。“今天，我就放过你吧”，没错，就是这个。其实根本没必要闲扯上这么一大篇，还有什么窥见樱冢护秘密的人就都要死之类的废话。拜托，他所需要的只不过是抹掉那段记忆罢了。对那家伙的程度而言，这种法术根本就是小菜一碟嘛。这是星史郎第一次听命于自己的心，并且，不会是最后的一次。这样，他在皇家少主身上留下了印记——而惟独只有我，看到了代表着他们之间羁绊的那条闪烁着淡粉色光芒的线，是如何与命运的银色线条缠绕在了一起，将其又加固了十重数。他们的爱与命运，永远地束缚在一起了。

我暗示他，在他的未来中会有那孩子的存在，而他会遭遇危险，且如果照赌约中所说的那样要去了解那孩子也同样是危险的，所以请他可不可以死了这条心。可星史郎正和其他樱冢护一样的固执——我早就观察到了，这是所有人类一贯的通病。因此，他自然是不听我的话，还一个劲欺骗自己，觉得他只不过是在做个游戏，只是玩玩而已，根本没当真。可事实上那当然不是什么“玩玩而已”，自始至终都不是。

 

 _途中与我相见_  
跨越无际的蓝天  
去到只属于彼此的世界  
途中与我相见  
跨越无际的蓝天  
使其成为来世的开端

 

樱冢护是要付出代价的，最终，他们会失去理智陷入疯狂。恍如一个行刑者一般不断地夺去人的性命，最后若不是把自己当成了支配人类的怪物，就是被罪恶感和痛苦折磨得发疯，一切都只是时间问题。因此，初代樱冢护就是这样精神失常的，于是他的继任者杀了他，随后成为了第二代樱冢护。自那时候开始，樱冢护就是这样，通过所能构建起来的最为坚固的联系——死与爱——而非血缘，一代又一代地传承了下来。继任者是否是樱冢护的后代都无所谓。虽然舍弃了一切人类所能拥有的，可称之为最深刻，最真实的快乐与悲伤的东西，樱冢护却被赐予了这世上所有人都无权享有的权利——选择自己的死亡。每一代都是如此，因为他们必须赶在癫狂将他们击溃以前死去。在初代樱冢护只手屠杀皇一门半数的族亲，由此结下两家的亘古宿怨后，樱冢护的继承法则也就此定下。旧法规定，杀死每一代樱冢护的人是他们最心爱的人，而不是最爱他们的人。

星史郎与皇家那一对双胞胎一起度过的那一年，实在是最无聊的一年，同时也是最快乐的一年。我指的是对我自己而言。说它无聊，是因为我那个守护者总是没完没了地自我催眠，说自己的和善只是伪装，那一切只是一场赌约，还有，他是没有感情，不可接近，独来独往，冷漠的樱冢护之类之类，一遍又一遍。每到夜间，当他不再是那个温和的兽医时，他甚至比以前更冷酷，以此来补偿自己白天自由放纵感情的罪过。我真怕他这就要疯了，所以就告诫他说他非立即退出不可。而他的确考虑过不少次，也都同意了，可第二天却总是照常回他的动物医院，他离不开皇家的那个孩子。对此他每每都说这是因为这个游戏实在太有趣了，噢，得了吧，他是找到机会做一次另一个自己了，若不是樱冢护的话，他也许就是那个样子。并且，他正在享受扮演普通人的乐趣。他可是第一个尝试过那一种生活的樱冢护啊——很有可能也是最后一个了，不过，事实却总是比这复杂得多的。

因为他正自得其乐，所以我也满高兴的。在这乏味的几千年里，我第一次有了一个能够展现出相当接近于幸福的样子，以及一种与工作顺利无关的，正常的满足感的守护者。他心中就是有着这么一种安宁，那是某种能够让他放心松弛的东西，于是他不必整天都想着自己这份杀手职业了。我对此也很感兴趣，远远不同于通常的那些原因。我看到了一个无意中卸下了冷酷外表的守护者，这使他变成了一个十分十分有趣的研究对象。除此以外，皇家的那对双胞胎又是绝对的有趣，他们把一种他从未遭遇过的温暖与爱带进了他的生活。雪华太严肃了，她教会了儿子许多事情，却从未告诉他欢笑的秘诀。我不笑，因为我是树，但那个名叫北都的女孩很难教人忍得住，真的，太难了。此外她还常常作弄她的弟弟，让我也觉得乐不可支。没办法，皇家少主实在太容易被揶揄了。

就这样，那一年里，星史郎很快乐。但他对此也开始警觉了起来，试图找理由摆脱这一切。约束樱冢护行为的应该是理智，而不是心。人类的快乐注定永远都不是樱冢护所能拥有的东西，你知道。他总是只差一点就能得到皇家那孩子，却每每都在理智提醒他不可以被心掌控的最后一秒逃了开去。至少他还知道，如果不让自己的心（或是身体）压倒理智——对樱冢护来说是绝不允许的——就走不到那一步。而我决定不告诉他其实他已经爱上皇家的那个孩子了。我为此相当不快，因为这就意味着我的死亡，也因为我晓得他们两个永远都不可能在一起。可我能做什么呢？未来永远都不是我所能够揭示的东西，总有一天，他们将为这一年的满足付出代价的。

而当那个疯女人试图刺伤他的昴流君时，他自己也明白了。

樱冢护使用的是灵力，但是当我的守护者护住皇昴流时，他所依靠的只是本能——无关灵力的本能。他用自己的身体来保护那个孩子，没有感情的樱冢护是不会这样做的。

于是，那一道防御的屏障再一次被树立了起来。对他来说，放任心来管束自己是绝对不行的。越早地屈服于心的力量，便将越快地走向疯狂，而时机尚未成熟。因此我选择了沉默，由他自己来寻找自己的出路。他想要将皇家的那个孩子从身边赶走，越远越好，并且下定决心表现得尽可能地冷酷而残忍。而在他的内心深处，他也需要这样，以此来警戒自己，告诉自己他仍可以将情感封禁住。当然，他并不知道，他的防御障蔽上面早已现出了裂痕，想要补救也已经太迟了。而他依然相信自己并不爱那个孩子。理论上来说这也是真的，他并不爱他……不是皇家的那个孩子对他的那种爱，不是那种包容的，顺从的，全心全意的，一个真正的恋人所付出的爱。

樱冢护永远都无法那样去爱，因为通往爱的道路，即是步向死亡之路。

因此他利用我来制造戏剧效果，你知道，粉红色樱花瓣之类的那一套，把那孩子弄到同一棵树下面，然后再现出真实身份以及所有的荣耀，等等等等。

不过这次我插了手。我用心灵感应给那个老妇人，皇一门的前代主人传了个信。现在就让那两个傻瓜对决实在太早了些，我实在是不想这时候就一命呜呼。老妇人肯定不想听我的话，不过她还是来了。她铁定非常讨厌我，但她晓得我究竟是什么东西。我是上古的力量之源，不会说假话。只不过她已经年老体弱，就算她灵力强大，也做不了什么。而那个白痴少主也就在那里挂着满颊的眼泪，伤心欲碎地……之类之类地，明显地陷入了呆滞状态。我实在是希望他可不要保持着这个样子长大成人，否则人类的那场战役就已然不战而败了。

我专心地看着，若星史郎真的发动攻击，我就要在他攻击以前那一瞬间冲进去弹开他所有的力量。我不敢保证那会怎么样，不过，该死的，要是他真的杀了那孩子，就会发生更糟糕的事情了。其实我也不知道如果他杀了那孩子就会发生什么，也不想知道，可是皇家少主活着的话，至少我也能大致地对以后的事情有点概念不是么。

但是，他没有攻击。

我告诉你，他根本没有攻击。那老妇人很弱，虽然她表现不俗；而且皇家少主就萎靡无力地挂在那里等死，星史郎完全可以杀掉他的昴流君再重伤那老妇。可他没有，他就那样停手不干了。

我想，那时候他一定已经知道了——一定已经十分确切地明白，对于他而言，皇昴流究竟是多么的重要。如果失去眼睛是他领悟的开始，那么在我的枝条下面的那一刻便是彻底的觉醒。但他自然是必须要把樱冢护那个荒谬的神话发扬到底，所以又絮絮叨叨说了一堆废话，差点让皇家少主当场死掉。我知道他为什么要这样做，不过，我自愿地承认，我没全懂。因为伤害了心爱的人，我的守护人也正是在伤害自己，可他成功地在自己的感觉变得不止是一阵刺痛以前将它屏蔽掉了，还忙不迭地告诉自己他的昴流君对他来说根本什么也不是，之类之类的。听见没有，*他的*昴流君。有一阵子我实在没法相信他会真的伤害那孩子。

所以，当他杀掉那孩子的孪生姐姐时，我——即便是我——也大吃了一惊。

 

 _一生一世间_  
惟有爱  
会向孤独的人伸出双手  
接受了爱的馈赠  
我们便可以更加坚强

 

历代樱冢护都堪称才智过人，而星史郎却是其中最出类拔萃的一个。他是个冷漠而敏锐非凡的思想者和谋士，可以预见到事物的各种可能性，并能准确无误地取得最适当的结果，这既是他的禀赋，同时却也是加在他身上的诅咒。除此以外，他还拥有着历代樱冢护都望尘莫及的、迅速把握机遇的能力。年方二十五岁，他就已经成为有始以来最强的樱冢护了——这让我愈发地笃定，我的末日，肯定就是在这一代了——而他的力量仍在不断增长直至鼎盛。他的力量使他预见到了未来的一些悬疑，于是在谜底揭开，皇家的那个孩子陷入了，哦，昏迷，我想还是这种说法最为恰当——以后，他径直来找我面谈。

_告诉我，您都看到了什么，樱大人。究竟有多糟糕？_

我明白，其实就算我不说他也知道，那个未来绝不美好。

 _再糟不过了，_ 我简短地说道。

 _这样的话……那就永远都不可能了……_ 这不是他想要说的话，但我却知道他究竟想说什么。他的意思是， _我们永远都不可能了。_

 _我明白了_ ，他静静地说道。 _我明白了。_ 随后他沉吟了片刻，我知道他看得见——对将要到来的那一切短暂的一瞥。两个神威都已经降生…… _我想只剩下一个办法了。进入他心中的话……太危险。_

 _太亲密，_ 这才是他想说的。那样做可能会洞穿我的守护者用来防御的心壁。

他陷入了沉默，但我可以感觉得到，在他心中，壁垒再一次被重重构建了起来，比那一年里任何时候都要更加坚固，更加厚重，且牢不可破。皇家少主再也不可能走得进去了。没错，他的心中的确存在着那么一小片空间，但却是极为狭小的一片空间，并且，已经被寒冰塞封住了。

 

_当我们用感情冒险  
以为自己拥有着永远_

 

因此，北都找到他时，他杀了她。不是因为她给予他的那个愚蠢到底的原因——事实上，那是献祭。樱冢护从不为得到献祭而杀人，永远都不会有这样的意图。但星史郎的所做却是缘于一个我并不完全同意的原因：为了给皇家少主上一堂能让他永生难忘的课。

 _他会疯掉的_ ，我这样警告我的守护者。

_如果他疯了，我会让他好起来的。他必须了解，自己总有一天要去战斗。他太善良——也太傻了。这个世界永远都不是单纯的光明与黑暗，但昴流君看到的一直都只是光明的一面。_

我想，我在我的守护者那声轻轻的叹息中感觉到了某些深意。 _难道你对他来说，还不够黑暗吗？我这样指出。_

_不，不够。_

我不喜欢这个答案，于是，我等着他说下去。

 _你没有必要知道_ ，他说。 _把她放走就是了。_

_你希望我向她转达你的歉意吗？_

他很惊讶。 _我并不感到抱歉，这只能如此。我做必须要做的事，并且付出代价；如果命运决定了其他人也要付出代价，那么我接受。这就是樱冢护的作风。_

北都不懂这些。她在懵懂中来到这里，又在懵懂中死去。施行最后的法术，并把爱和死亡与其束缚在一起，她所使用的恰恰是将我与我的守护者束缚在一起的力量。于是在无意中，她也加固了将我的守护者与皇家少主束缚在一起的那道羁绊。等到她意识到命运为那两个人备下的将是什么时，已然为时过晚。随后，我便将她的灵魂送走了。

虽然星史郎无从知晓，但我却知道，并且，只有我知道。他们的命运……早已注定。

 

_途中与我相见_

 

我仍记得九年以后的那一天，星史郎来找我，而我察觉到了那一天与往日有所不同。他靠在我的树干上，默默地为自己点上烟。他什么也没有说，但我却看到那苍银，血红以及淡粉的牵绊所闪耀的光芒，完全不同于这九年内的任何时候，并且我感受到了他的变化之处。皇家少主已经回到东京，一切即将开始。他们自己虽然不知道，但那紧张的气息已经开始酝酿——神威已经做出了选择，而他的双子星也在他选择的那一刻被决定了。

我什么也没说，但我知道星史郎正在想些什么。九年过去了，他一直都没有忘记皇家的那个孩子，这就是让他感到十分困惑的事。在他心中，那道壁垒上的裂痕于我在一旁沉默地观察时再度增大了一点。有关那孩子与他孪生姐姐的记忆闪过他的心头眼底，竭力挣扎着想要沾染上情感的色彩。但星史郎熟练地将它封住，并迅速地略过了这一切，因此他仍然可以继续将自己置身于这些记忆影象之外。整整一夜，他都站在那里，一支接一支地吸着烟，直到天明。

过后的日子里，我知道他在不断地追寻着皇家少主的影迹，因为我可以同时感受到他们两个人。星史郎几乎每每都比以往更加沉默，更加冷淡，他很少在我的枝干下歇息，因为他的时间和精力都被皇家的那个孩子占据了。我明白，他现在让我的守护者非常迷惑。那孩子已经长成了大人，且还是极漂亮的一个年轻人，如果我对星史郎的反应解读得没错的话。但当我的守护人认为（非常感伤地）他所认识的那个孩子就藏在年轻人那一层坚硬却又脆弱的外壳下面时，我推想着大概有不少次皇家少主的行为都让他实实在在地感到满头雾水。星史郎为此十分烦恼，这人从来都不会承认自己会被谁吸引，但皇家少主却将他俘获了。他想要成为唯一能够真正理解那孩子的人……一半是由于理性的好奇心，另一半是因为……哦，他很在意那孩子身上的某些东西。

_但众多的新事态正在一件件浮出水面。_

时间一天天过去，地龙陆续现出真实面目，天龙也逐个现身，使得空气中剑拔弩张的味道愈渐浓厚；甚至在透过守护者的双眼目睹以前，我就已经了解这些人的本体了。每个封印或是御使觉醒之时，我都能感受到为他们而纺出的命运之线在闪烁着，低鸣着，将他们相互联结，锁入那冲不破的羁绊。地龙象征着人性阴暗的一面，背负的是智慧、冷酷及决断。而天龙则是人性光明的一面，背负的是自私（的确不是无私），爱与勇气。无论哪一方都不理解对方的立场，也注定无法理解。过去的那些年里，光和暗完全背道而驰，沿着各自的轨道向前发展，现在则是双方碰面对峙的时候了。最后的审判，决定是通过改造人类自身从而重整这个世界，还是通过毁灭人类而重整这个世界。这就是两个神威的任务，一个代表着人性的光明之面，另一个代表着阴暗之面。总而言之，那两个人就是整个人类。

 

_穿越无际的蓝天_

 

那一天，我第一次感觉到，我的守护者在颤抖。

他靠着我的树干，一言不发地隐在暗处，连将自己遮蔽起来的幻境都没顾得布下。他几乎可以说是因为愤怒而颤抖不已，他的情绪正燃烧着白热的火焰，连他的心壁也在这熊熊的烈焰之下颤动起来。火焰的势头直直地指向他自己，指向地龙的神威——还有皇家少主。很明显是因为发生了什么事，同时牵涉到他们三个，并且激怒了我的守护人。星史郎没有说，但他心中映射出来的画面却将他烦乱的原因告诉了我。直接说来，就是地龙神威公然毁掉了皇家少主的一只眼睛，而后者此时正裹着绷带躺在医院的床上。自然，没有人能在樱冢护浑然不觉的情况下对皇昴流做这样的事。我守护人愤怒的根源即在于此，还有一些则是与皇家那孩子的愿望有关，据我猜想是因为地龙神威的那些话。

我有点不高兴了。自从那孩子再次出现以来，他就一直在想着他。我可以明确地告诉你，当一个人白天黑夜的所思所想只剩下一个主题时，他很快就该感到疲惫不堪了。

 _你为什么不去看看你的皇家少主？_ 我问道。与其这样坐立不安，也许去看看那孩子倒还好些。那样或许能让他冷静下来，把这些事情一一整理出个头绪来。一定要直面恐惧，否则就会永远为恐惧所役使。不过另一方面，也许直接与渴望与迷恋的事物正面接触也不能算是处事的最佳方法。

星史郎点上一支烟，却没有将它放到唇边，反倒是定定地注视着那须微的火焰在那细长雅致的纸筒底端不断地扑动闪烁，随后他突然将它掷到了地上并碾在脚下。他向后靠回到我的干上，用谨慎而平静的语调说道。

_“他的神威会担心的。”_

这时我觉察到他心中骤然燃起了一道剧烈的火光，而他无情地将它扑灭了，就像对待那支香烟一样——那一闪而过的烈焰，即来自于那数层用以维持他心智健全的，厚重而牢不可破的障壁后面的某些东西。

_“但我是樱冢护。”_

星史郎缓缓地从盒中抽出另一支烟，并将它点燃了。这一次，他衔住了它，将烟雾吸进，随后从容不迫地慢慢吐出。

_“直到我死，他都是我的。”_

而真正的意思他并没有说出口。 _直到他死，皇家少主永远都得不到自由；直到他死，他自己永远得不到解脱。_

但我却早已知晓，这世上存在的某些羁绊，可以超越死亡。

 

_去到只属于我和你的世界_

 

_樱大人。_

_樱冢护_ ，我严肃地回答。

 _谢谢。_ 他将脸颊贴在我的干上，过了一会。于是，我不禁想起雪华第一次将这孩子的脸颊贴在我的树干上，以便来日辨认的情景。

 _你要走了_ ，我说。

 _我要走了。_ 他承认。 _今天，有个人必须要死，您马上就可以得到养分了。_

 _这可不是你感谢我的原因，_ 我冷冷地说。

 _是的。_ 他表示同意。声音听来很愉快。 _但您已经知道我为什么要感谢您了。那天早晨，在我杀死我母亲之前，她也感谢过您。现在我也是一样，感谢您所做的一切。_

我缓缓地对自己点点头，小心地挥动着我的枝条，于是，一阵雨一样的花瓣与落叶飘然掠过他的身际，仿佛乘着一阵清风一般。 _你知道这是什么样的光景。_

我可以清楚地听到他的声音： _我知道，直到我死，他都是我的。但您早就已经知道了，不是吗？_

 _知道即便你死去，你也属于他，对吗？_ 我答道。 _最后的审判已经临近，去找他吧，樱冢护，最后一次。你仍可以改变你的未来。_

他颇为有耐性地笑了。 _樱大人，我没有未来。我是樱冢护，也是七御使，地龙之一。我做我不得不做的事，并为此付出代价。_ 他在此顿了一下。实在是有点感伤，我想道。…… _今天，我想，我要付出我的代价了。_

 _九年来，你和皇家少主都已经为你们一同度过的那一年而付出了代价，_ 我告诉他。 _决定这代价究竟何时才能全部还清的是命运，而不是你。_

 _今天，我要付出最后的代价，_ 他静静地重复道。 _夺去皇北都生命的代价。并且通过它，来满足我的昴流君的愿望——同时将自由还给他——让他可以和他的神威在一起。_

体察到了隐藏于这些话语之后的真意，我冲口说道， _你已经穷尽一个樱冢护可能拥有的所有的爱去爱那个孩子了啊。_

 _可那永远都不够，_ 他静静地回答。我感到他心中的障壁在震颤着。 _樱大人……很久以前我曾一度感到也许会是如此，但当时是当时，现在是现在。我们的命运早已注定。_ 他深深地吸了口气。 _您可以和我一起去吗？我已经一无所有了。_

樱冢护从来都不会缺少勇气。

 _我会的，_ 我向他保证。 _我会在那里，亦步亦趋地跟着你，不管发生什么。_ 我知道还是不要劝阻他为好。因为他之所以这样做还有其他的原因……我怕那会摧毁他的心壁，释放他的心，而迫使他发疯。

_谢谢。_

他直起了身，细心地拂去外衣上的花瓣，如此冷漠而温文，散发着充满磁性的魅力以及内外兼具的强势气息，让男人与女人同时折服于他，并在数年前俘获了皇昴流的心。他对此一无所知，一直都认为不是这样——但他是可以爱别人的人。皇北都是对的——我的守护者也拥有爱的机会——但她并不知道，作为樱冢护，爱即是死亡之路。

我看着他走远，感觉着上方天空中的星宿正缓慢地移动到即定的位置。他的命运已无可扭转。

 

_途中与我相见_

 

最终，我看到皇家少主的到来，雪白的风衣飘荡在呼啸的风中。银色的命运之线如此狂乱地铮鸣着，在两个人之间伸长，拉紧，而淡粉与血红的光芒同苍银交织在一起，直到合为一体。其时已到。

在意识的边缘处，我察觉到了第三个人的存在。 _神威。_

那个曾经是桃生封真的孩子也认出了我。 _/古老的一位。/_

我知道该如何应付他。 _不要插手，_ 我警告他。 _还有，叫另一个神威也同样不要多管闲事，但不要伤了或是杀了他。_ 和地龙神威打交道时，你必须把一切都说得清清楚楚才行。 _要是被他插进来，所有人就都完了，这世界也就毁于一旦，根本都不会有最后的战斗了。_

 _好吧。_ 他停顿了一下。 _这么看来……那个天龙仍然爱着他。_

 _我们会知道的。_ 我简短地答道。因为杀死樱冢护的人从来都是他们最心爱的人，而不是最爱他们的人。

于是，我静静地看着星史郎依旧微笑着握起拳头，瞄准了皇家少主的心脏。而当这一击的目标被锁定时，我感觉到围绕着星史郎的心的障壁在层层断裂，缓缓地倒塌了下去。而其中被封存的情感，自从九岁的皇家少主笨拙地邂逅了我的守护者之时便隐藏于此的情感，于痛苦中最终甦醒，并与皇家少主的手穿过他心脏时带来的身体上的痛楚交织在了一起。

……星史郎……我的守护者，你将我服侍得非常好……我们已经完成了属于我们的责任……

我知道我的花瓣正在零落，飞散，但此时我一点也不在乎。这一刻我向你致敬，樱冢护——铃木星史郎，铃木雪华的儿子，皇一门早已被遗忘的远亲。去吧，星史郎，你已然出色地完成了你的任务，重拾你真正的名字吧。

我望着皇家少主紧紧地拥抱着星史郎的躯体，扭曲了姣好的面容。

哭吧，皇昴流。现在你可以哭泣了，因为你的心就在你认定它早已破碎到不堪修复的时候再一次碎裂了。但将你们紧紧束缚在一起的羁索却变得愈发坚固，终不可破。你的爱，以及他的爱，将这道羁索封存至今，并升华为永恒。的确是世间鲜有的爱——如若你能领悟的话该有多好，皇昴流。永恒的爱也是可能被拒绝的。最终，你是他最心爱的人，但他是你最心爱的人吗？

星史郎拒绝杀你，并不是因为你对他毫无价值，皇昴流，你对他太重要了。他最爱的只有你一个人，而也只有你一个人是责任和命运对他下的禁令。因为他的爱会让他痛苦，驱使他疯狂，所以他选择了将自己的情感封禁起来，而在不知不觉中，为将你推开还是把你拉进这两者之间挣扎徘徊。你认为他总是在矛盾地暗示着你自己无力制止还能是为什么呢？啊，可是，你误会他了，因为你不理解他。你一直都在试图理解他是怎样的人，为什么会对你的痛苦不闻不问，但即使这样，你仍无法了解他。除非你身为樱冢护，否则，你永远都无法理解。

他用他所能爱你的唯一方式深爱着你——不是你所期望的温柔多情的爱，但他永远无法给予你更多，因为那是不可能的。他穷尽自己的所能爱着你，爱到在本可以杀死你的时候却放你走，爱到放过你的祖母，爱到选择杀死你的姐姐，伤透你的心以便使你从自我封闭中走出来，并领会到这世界上还有黑暗的一面。为了你以后的责任，这是你必须学到的东西。他爱你，爱到足以认定在你眼中毫无价值的正是他自己，而并不是相反，如你所想的那样。他永远无法杀死你，也永远无法伤害你。数年前让你心碎，只是为了保证你至少可以活下来。他愿意不惜一切来做到这一点。

他故意启动了你姐姐的法术——不止是为你，也为他自己。他想要放你自由——并让你为姐姐复仇——也是为了让自己从你的世界中解脱出来。你还没有意识到这一点吧，对不对？他不得不将自己从你的束缚中解脱出来。你，皇昴流，你太专注于自己，所以看不到这一切。你一度让他成为自己世界的中心，但你永远都不明白，他根本没有自己的世界。人类都需要别人的陪伴，但他却注定终生孑然一身。一棵树的陪伴对一个人来说没有什么用处，不管这棵树是不是如我一样出色而强大。他从来都没有选择的余地，但是你有，而你选择的却是不要其他人的陪伴。

哦，顺便一提——他选择死还有另一个原因，连他自己也没把它当成自杀的主要动机。他认定你已经开始喜欢神威了。这几乎让他崩溃，你知道吗？他最终会被逐往疯狂之路的。他从未想到你会爱他，因为你从未表露出你爱樱冢护，你只爱樱冢星史郎，而星史郎同时是这两者。因此，怀着既自私却又高尚的意图，他作出了恋人所能作出的最伟大的牺牲。他给了你离开他的自由。

珍惜这一切吧，皇昴流，在你尚有机会的时候。时已将近终结。你对这个男人的爱永远都无法超越他对你的爱，而星史郎的牺牲，尽管没有什么价值，却连像我这样一棵古老，坚韧的树也深深地为之感动。

 

_穿越无际的蓝天_

 

正歇息着古老的枝干时，我忽然感到有些古怪。这种感觉很像是星史郎与我的联系……但这是不可能的。我早就已经把他的灵魂放走了……可是，等等，这里面还有些不同之处……

我感觉到一个人的存在。看在上天全部星宿的份上，这该死的到底是怎么回事？！不知怎么回事，也不知道究竟怎么办到的，皇昴流这个气死人的傻瓜居然设法将自己混合在星史郎和我的联系之中了！！！还没经过我同意呢，这小子！还有，他到底站在我的枝条下面干什么？他应该和他的神威在一起才对，或者至少发发好心为他的星史郎表示表示哀悼嘛。可是，噢不，他却在这里……皇一门与樱冢护的力量合为一体了。

我颤抖了起来。 _皇昴流，你知道你在干什么吗？_ 我唏嘘着说道。

随后传来了他的答复，虚弱而阴郁。 _我想您是那棵樱树吧。_

这时我察觉到了其他的东西。他的眼睛……他不是瞎了一只眼睛么……老天啊，他正使用着星史郎那只完好的眼睛呢。意识到自己忘了什么时，我不禁打了阵寒战。

理论上讲，因为星史郎是自杀的，哦，所以就不可能有下一任樱冢护了。我都已经忘记了没有守护者的话，随着力量的流失，我会非常缓慢地死去这件事了。根据上古的法则，除非我的守护者自杀，任何杀死樱冢护的人都会成为下一任樱冢护……我们之间的联系——我和星史郎之间不管怎样肯定还保持着联系。也许被削弱了，但是仍然存在着，即便他的灵魂已经离开了。我已经斩断了与他灵魂的联系，但是他的身体却还没有消失——

_皇昴流，你知道你刚刚做了什么吗？_

_我是……樱冢护……_

好吧，这么说来，我不需要慢慢地死去了，但是我是真的真的需要克制住自己不把这个傻瓜杀掉。不过，有件事非问不可。

_说真的，你到底从哪弄到星史郎的眼睛的？_

他的声音既冷淡又沉闷。 _地龙神威给我的。他说……如果我接受……我就会成为下一任樱冢护……_

原来是那个碍事的地龙神威。很好，他觉得自己已经主宰世界了。可他根本不怎么清楚自己为什么无法杀死司狼神威，也不怎么知道为什么另一个神威永远都不可能被摧毁。司狼神威仍然存在，在他心中，还有一点属于原来那个有骨气的暴躁男孩。我们今天看到的神威可没什么骨气——也许只是很多人这么想而已。哈，想要对抗地龙神威的话，就要有点骨气才行。好吧，我可以告诉他，在他的内心深处，他仍是那个曾经深爱着，且现在依然深爱着司狼神威的桃生封真。不管怎么样，地龙神威是永远无法杀死另一个神威的。

但我已经跑题了。

我把注意力转回到皇昴流身上。 _所以你拿了那只眼睛，就这样接受了，_ 我满心不快地说。

现在我总算明白命运究竟是怎么运作的了——经由皇昴流这样的傻瓜的手。看着星史郎浪费生命陪这个脑子只有豌豆大小的笨孩子玩耍，实在让我很心痛啊。

 _我不得不……_ 他喃喃地说道。

我看着这孩子。或许他那些愚蠢的误解全部都缘于那份爱吧。人类总是这样。我看到银色的命运之线闪耀着明丽的光芒；随着星史郎的死，浅粉与血红的线已经消失了。其中的爱是显而易见的：那苍银的命运之线，闪耀的是柔和的金黄。

我真是不想当保姆。

还有，我真诚地希望神威能在献祭之日狠狠地给那个地龙神威一下子。

 

_使其成为来世的开端_

 

最后的审判已经来临。我可以感觉得到。

最后的献祭之日。

我怀疑，天龙和地龙里面有人注意到这个吗？

每一个封印和御使的死，都是一种牺牲，一种献祭。

这的确很有趣。

所有决定地球未来的人都会来到这里，所有的人——死者或是生者。毕竟，他们是天龙和地龙，无论发生什么，他们必须在这最后的日子里，集结于此。

啊，他们已经来了。

他们伫立在那里，相互凝望，相互对峙。

空汰。

岚。

护刃。

火炼。

征一狼。

昴流。

神威。

神威。

星史郎。

游人。

草薙。

哪吒。

牙晓。

最后的战役开始了。

_完_


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